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"Send it to Boston"
BU gets Dan Rather's papers and four decades of history

By Brian Fitzgerald

To many, Dan Rather (Hon.’83) is a television news icon, heir to the throne of Walter Cronkite. The CBS Evening News anchor for nearly 20 years, he was the first journalist to break the news of President John F. Kennedy’s death. His coverage of wars – in Vietnam, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, and Yugoslavia – has spanned generations.

Still, he’s a bit uncomfortable with the second half of the title of the BU Department of Special Collections’ latest exhibition, Dan Rather: Reporter of History, Maker of History. Rather was at Mugar Memorial Library October 21 to open the exhibition, which contains a selection of photographs, papers, and memorabilia.

"Someone who finds a cure for polio makes history," he said. "Someone who ends a war makes history. Being on television is very interesting work. It pays well sometimes. But it also has its dangers. One of the dangers is taking yourself too seriously. It’s extremely dangerous for any journalist to think of himself as a maker of history."

Rather, who sees himself as "an honest broker of information and a reliable eyewitness," believes that reporters must set their opinions aside as far as humanly possible.

"In this exhibit, we do not find one of the talking heads who dominate too much of television today," said BU Chancellor John Silber, "but a thoughtful,
knowledgeable student of history, and of contemporary culture and life, who has worked hard to arrive at an objective, accurate assessment of every situation or issue he reports, and faithfully to report it."

Rather is among 1,800 notable figures of the past 100 years whose papers are part of Special Collections.

Highlights of the exhibition include photos of Rather with Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, and Norman Schwarzkopf. Among Rather’s memorabilia are press credentials for a speech by President Kennedy a week before his assassination, photos of Rather in Vietnam (along with one of him in jungle fatigues), a reporter’s notebook describing the chaos of heavy combat, broadcast typescripts from such hot spots as Somalia and Bosnia, his gas mask from the Gulf War, and a Soviet soldier’s bayonet that Afghan rebels gave him in 1980.

Rather has won numerous Emmy Awards and is regularly cited as "best news anchor" in opinion surveys. He was named one of Time magazine’s People of the Century, and is among 1,800 notable figures of the past 100 years whose papers are part of Special Collections. That repository began storing Rather’s papers in 1964, when its director, Howard Gotlieb, felt that the newsman "would become one of the most important journalists in the country." Gotlieb was right.

Rather recalled that Gotlieb showed up unannounced at the CBS Washington Bureau. "He came up, introduced himself, and said that he wanted my papers," he said. "My first comment was, ‘I don’t have any.’ And my second comment was, ‘I can’t imagine why anybody would want them.’ " Gotlieb explained that all Rather needed to do was put anything he didn’t need into cardboard boxes and send them to BU. After Rather returned from Vietnam in 1966, Gotlieb called again. And again. "Send it to Boston" became a mantra in Rather’s office.

A quarter of a million items and a quarter century later, Rather said that when he saw the exhibition, he was "blown away by how much material there was."

Known for his tough, no-nonsense style, Rather pulled no punches when asked what he thought of this year’s presidential debates. "I think the joint appearances that some people called debates were not, in fact, debates," he said. "I think that the very fact that the two candidates appeared face-to-face has some value. But my concern is that we can do better, and we should do better. We should demand better." He said that the debates were "put on by politicians for politicians" and "do not serve the voter.
We’ve allowed ourselves to be conned to a certain degree."

Of the state of television news, he said, "We either have to surrender completely to entertainment values and give up on news values, or start fighting harder."

Rather expressed pessimism over the Middle East peace talks, which he thought were becoming productive this past summer. "Beginning with the end of the Gulf War, we had a window of opportunity," he said. "That window, at the very best, is in the process of being closed. I think you could argue that it has closed."

But he tries not to let his opinions get the better of him when he is behind the news desk or out in the field. "I do believe in the goal of objectivity," he said. "And I do recognize that there are people who say that because you cannot be completely, totally objective – every second of every day, in every way, on every story – that you shouldn’t even try. I do not believe that. I believe it’s a worthy goal – one of the most important goals of any journalist – to try to be objective. Your first responsibility is to be accurate and fair. But running right with that, shoulder to shoulder, is to be objective. The phrase has become a little archaic, but not with me."

4 December 2000
Boston University
Office of University Relations